Metro Washington Council afl-cio

In a victory for free speech and public access rights, hundreds of protesters jubilantly demonstrated yesterday in front of the new Trump International hotel. Trump had attempted to push the protest off the plaza in front of the hotel, taking advantage of the unusual leeway to control public space granted by the federal government when Trump leased the Old Post Office for his $212 million-dollar hotel. However, the Metro Labor Council had already applied for a permit to hold a picket, and the feds honored the request, allowing picketers to press their demand that Trump negotiate with his workers in Las Vegas. Trump was forced to move his ribbon-cutting indoors -- where the protest could still be heard -- and the demonstration garnered international news coverage, including Sputnick News, US News & World Report, The Huffington Post and WTOP.